INTERVIEW: Aarhus Haandbold´s hard shooting right back Rune Ohm admits that his team must do better in the return match of the EHF Cup Qualification Round 3 against HC Zomimak-M in order to make their three goal lead from the first leg count.

Ohm ready to resist EHF Cup exit

When you carry the name Ohm, you are almost inevitably expected to be able to offer some resistance – and this definitely applies to Rune Ohm. The 33-year-old former Danish international who is now representing Aarhus Haandbold, has offered tough resistance to many an opponent in Danish as well as international handball over time.

Last Saturday, it was HC Zomimak-M's turn to feel the determination and shooting power from the experienced right back.

With 13 goals, ten of which were scored in the second half, Ohm became a decisive factor behind Aarhus's 29:26 win in the first leg of the Qualification Round 3 tie in the EHF Cup against the Macedonian side.

However, as Aarhus were heading for a considerably larger win late in the second half, being up with 27:20, Ohm could not really be happy about his many goals, and that was even hard for him, when eurohandball.com talked to him three days after the match.

eurohandbal.com: What do you see as the reason for your personal success in the first match?

Rune Ohm: Actually, the two halves were quite different for me. In the first half I did not really have much success, but after the break things started moving for me, and my shots went in. Unfortunately, my personal success did not spread to the team. We were leading by seven, and we should have been able to get a better result before going to Macedonia this weekend.

eurohandball.com: As you said, you were leading by seven goals – actually 27:20 shortly before the end. What went wrong for your team in those last minutes, do you think?

Rune Ohm: In fact it was a combination of several factors. The Macedonians scored some quite lucky goals on rebounds, and they also managed to score some goals while being one player less on the court. At the same time, we missed some large scoring opportunities on their goalkeeper who did really well in that part of the match, so those were probably the reasons, why the match ended the way it did.

eurohandball.com: Many of the players in your team, yourself included, have played those European matches before, so it can hardly have been lack of experience that caused this bad ending to the match for your team, can it?

Rune Ohm: No, I do not think you can call it lack of experience. Actually, we managed to create some very qualified scoring opportunities, also towards the end of the match, but we did not manage to benefit from them. I do not think you can call that lack of experience, but obviously that is an aspect in our play which we will have to improve for the second match.

eurohandball.com: Macedonian fans are generally known to be extremely enthusiastic and noisy. Do you have any idea what kind of atmosphere may be awaiting you in the return match?

Rune Ohm: There is no doubt in my mind that we may expect an inferno, and I only hope for two referees who can abstract from that, and we will simply have to cope with it ourselves too. With a lead as narrow as three goals, we cannot think about just keeping the lead. We will have to go for a second win, and that is what we intend to do.

eurohandball.com: You almost make it sound like an advantage that you are only leading by three?

Rune Ohm: Oh no, I have to say that I would definitely have preferred to go to Macedonia with a seven or eight goal lead. However, a three goal lead is what we have, and must try and get the best out of that, and we do that best by going for another win.

eurohandball.com: Being a player who had been through a lot during your career, does it mean something extra to you to play those European matches?

Rune Ohm: I am not sure if it means anything extra to me. In general, it is the motivation that drives me on in everything I do, but when you have been to Skjern, Tvis, Kolding and all those other well-known arenas in Denmark as often as I have, it is obviously a refreshing change to play against some team you have not met before, and to see some places you do not see every day.

eurohandball.com: What will it mean to your team to reach the group phase?

Rune Ohm: That will mean a lot. Now that the EHF Cup has been extended with this group phase, it means that if you qualify, you get six tough matches against some strong and attractive teams from other parts of Europe, so it will mean a lot to the city of Aarhus and to the club Aarhus Haandbold to reach the group phase. Furthermore, it will be important to Danish handball to get some teams in the group phase like last year.

eurohandball.com: Last season Denmark was even represented in the EHF Cup Finals, by Team Tvis Holstebro. Have you allowed yourselves to think that far yet?

Rune Ohm: No, that is far too early. First we will have to reach the group phase, and that will be difficult enough as it is, considering that situation we have brought upon ourselves. So I think we should talk about that again next week, when we know if we have qualified for the group phase at all.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / br

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